Why I brought Malaysian sustainable palm oil to the CBS TV set

MEDIA BUZZ: As I prepared for my appearance on CBS in Los Angeles to offer advice on healthy lunches for kids, I made sure to bring several bottles of Malaysian sustainable palm oil. You’ll see three on the table during this clip. Invariably, the TV hosts and crew are so fascinated by this oil that they want some for themselves.

During the interview, I told viewers why they shouldn’t be afraid to add fatty foods to their kids’ lunches. Even the host was surprised by this. Choosing healthy fats, such as Malaysian sustainable palm oil, have wonderful health benefits that we may otherwise be missing in our diet.

Fat has been wrongfully demonized. It’s actually one of the most important macro-nutrients we can get. The problem is that we’re consuming the wrong kinds of fat, such as trans fats, hydrogenated oils and highly processed vegetable oils. These are the biggest source of inflammation in the diet.

It’s time to switch to some healthier fats. Malaysian red palm oil has a lovely red color which comes from an abundance of carotenoids and tocotrienols. These nutrients promote heart, skin and hair health. Some people look at palm oil and say, ‘palm oil, well that’s a saturated fat’. The truth is that research over the last five years has absolved saturated fat of any causal effect on heart disease. Healthy, traditional saturated fats from plant-based sources, such as Malaysian palm oil, are absolutely good for you. Plus because it has a relatively high smoke point, it stands up to heat better than other cooking oils. It’s also non-inflammatory and non-GMO.

The CBS host asked if kids could get too much of this oil. I took advantage of this question to make a point: Fat is satiating. It’s sort of self-regulatory. It’s easy to sit and eat bowl after bowl of cereal, but you can only eat so much fat at one time because it keeps you full. Your appetite for it regulates. Your body knows what it needs. I don’t worry about giving a kid too much of something such as an avocado because he’ll stop eating when he’s full. The same goes for healthy fats such as Malaysian sustainable palm oil.

I tend to favor Malaysian palm oil over others because of its sustainability. I care about the animals. Malaysia conserves more than 50 percent of its rain forests. The country is animal friendly and protective. No orangutans are hurt there, and that matters.

By the way, no one on the set asked me for the bottles of corn or vegetable oil. I saved them to use as examples of what NOT to use during future TV interviews.

About Jonny Bowden

Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS, also known as “The Nutrition Myth Buster” ™ is a nationally known board-certified nutritionist and expert on diet and weight loss. He is the best-selling author of 15 books including The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, Living Low Carb (now in its fourth edition), and is the co-author, with cardiologist Stephen Sinatra, of the controversial best-seller, “The Great Cholesterol Myth: Why Lowering Your Cholesterol Won’t Prevent Heart Disease and the Statin-Free Plan that Will”. His latest book, Smart Fat: Eat More Fat, Lose More Weight, Get Healthy Now!-- written with PBS star Steven Masley, MD--- was published by Harper Collins in January 2016.

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